New Reviews: Biography & Memoir

David de Vries provides an excellent narration of this comprehensive explanation of the issues surrounding transgender people and healthcare in the United States today. De Vries' clear diction and compassionate tone represent the book well. Author Butler has a transgender daughter, and his audiobook provides background, scientific research, and current political and legal... Read More

This intellectual, original audiobook utilizes the literary technique introduced by Gertrude Stein whereby one's partner writes a supposed autobiography of the person they love. Here, gay writer and critic Lin tells the story of her Vietnamese American spouse and the key moments of her life. In a steady, self-possessed voice, Rebecca Lam relates the stories of Lan Thao's early... Read More

Natalie Naudus brings this biography to life with her outstanding pacing, spot-on voices, and smooth relaying of information. Queer publishing icon Margaret C. Anderson faced an obscenity trial in 1921 after serializing James Joyce's ULYSSES in her cutting-edge literary magazine, "The Little Review." Though this audiobook focuses on Anderson's career in publishing, it also... Read More

Kuin's study of the ancient Greek cynic who made philosophy a performance art is comfortably supported by Cassandra Campbell's easygoing performance, which carries the listener through the text's occasional repetition and lack of focus. While Campbell's pleasant voice and manner don't always match up with Diogenes' persona as a transgressive maverick, that doesn't undermine her... Read More

Experienced narrator Daniel Henning, who has a real feel for the subject matter, delivers a stylized yet pleasing narration of this candid life history, based on conversations and interviews. Bachardy, an artist, was the life partner of the late novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood. Unique in its approach to discussing gay life in the 1950s, this audiobook is frank... Read More

Marion Winik met Tony Heubach in New Orleans during the debauched celebrations of Mardi Gras 1982. She was a self-described "crazy romantic poetess" and he a "gay ice-skater," but their chemistry was instantaneous and explosive, if complicated. In 1986, they were married--despite the skepticism of friends and family--and made a home in Austin, Texas, raising two sons. By 1994,... Read More

Griffiths narrates her poetic memoir, marked by two traumatic life events, with precision. Griffiths' emotive narration takes measure of the joys and sorrows she experiences in tender moments spent with her best friend, Kamilah Aisha Moon, a talented poet, as they share a deep connection and support each other's work. Despair comes on "the best and worst day" of her life, when... Read More

While author Zengerle provides a workmanlike reading of the lengthy prologue, Beth Hicks successfully presents an engaging, straightforward, and unadorned narration of the balance. Zengerle, a New York Times Magazine writer, presents a well-researched, if highly-opinionated, examination of the life and evolution of conservative pundit Tucker Carlson. Zengerle also examines the... Read More

In his memoir, author and narrator Chesney offers his listeners a candid look into the relationship between his personal experiences and his songs which resonate with millions of fans. He describes his lifelong focus on creating songs, detailing the process and the energy it demands. In his energetic narrative style, he relates the emotional impact he felt when he was inducted... Read More

Anyone--fan or not--who tuned into tennis in the 1970s remembers Borg, the long-haired Swede who captured tournaments across the world. But the top-ranked player left the sport at a young age, seemingly at the apex of his game. Here he recounts his memories of his formative years with his family, his relationships with girlfriends and wives, his partying, and his career. Julian... Read More

Scott Eyman, an accomplished film specialist, offers a detailed personal and professional amalgam of Joan Crawford's life. Crawford was a highly successful actor who survived the transition from silent movies to the first "talkies" and the movies that followed--up to the 1970s. Pedestrian language mars this audiobook. Excessive detail, such as quoting every memo wafting down... Read More

From the 1980s to the early 1990s, there was no bigger, bankable, likable, and funnier Hollywood star than John Candy. David Bendena uses an upbeat journalistic style to narrate this celebration of Candy's remarkable rise from small-town Canada to Toronto's groundbreaking "Second City Television" (SCTV). With his innate comic talents and easy charm, Candy quickly went on to... Read More

Two men from the basketball pantheon team up to deliver these biographical portraits that are less a ranking and more a snapshot of their game. Smith, a longtime sportswriter, and Jackson, the venerable coach and "Zen master," work in tandem narrating their writing. Nayib Felix sets the tone with the introductory part of each player's bio, then Smith and Jackson each weigh in... Read More

More than 35 hours long, this comprehensive biography of Random House founder Bennett Cerf is equal to a workweek for many listeners. Cerf nurtured a roster of the 20th century's most consequential authors and was nationally known as a television panelist. His story is a fascinating panorama of American arts and society over 50 years, scrupulously researched but overburdened... Read More

Independent journalist Josiah Hesse takes on the religious right in this harrowing memoir of growing up in 1980s-90s Mason City, Iowa. As corporate farming caused the collapse of family farms and evangelical churches were succumbing to what he describes as the destructive corruption of the prosperity gospel, his family disintegrated into a vicious cycle of poverty, shame,... Read More

Gunnar Cauthery does a solid job narrating this memoir by Stoltenberg, former NATO Secretary General and Prime Minister of Norway. Like so many political memoirs, this one is filled with places, events, big-name personas, and self-justification. It seems that Stoltenberg inhabits something of a bubble, though. Cauthery's pacing, pronunciation, and expression are precise and... Read More

Kerry Hutchinson's quick delivery and British accent ensure that listeners will enjoy Royal Marine Farthing's true and inspirational story about saving stray dogs while serving in Afghanistan. When Hutchinson recounts the author's experiences and concern for the dogs of Now Zad, it's both heartrending and hopeful. Memories of these dogs--how some were saved and loved, and some... Read More

Macy recounts, with a sense of gratitude and plucky amusement, her escape from poverty and alcoholism in small-town Ohio with the help of her staunch mother, supportive teachers, and a generous Pell Grant. She wants to know what it would take for a poor, ambitious kid to do the same these days and concludes that the barriers have multiplied to a nearly insurmountable level. And... Read More

Narrator Amber Dekkers guides listeners through the trials and tribulations of the relatively unknown writer Sanora Babb. Her life began with an abusive and impoverished childhood in eastern Colorado. As an adult in California, she associated with creatives such as Ray Bradbury, James Wong Howe, and Ralph Ellison. Her own writing, however, was often pushed aside and ignored.... Read More

Narrator Michael Vallely's soft, melodic Irish brogue is an ideal match for this memoir chronicling Waldron's adoption of a border collie named Oscar in rural Ireland. Oscar enters Waldron's life during a pivotal time after his father's sudden death, providing comfort and quickly becoming part of the family. Waldron's relatable processing of his grief is interwoven with... Read More

At age 18, when Priscilla Presley married one of the most famous men in the world, Elvis Presley, she was uncertain where her life would take her. In this memoir Presley's voice resounds with clarity and energy. She wants to set the record straight about a lot of things, including her personal experiences with Elvis; their late daughter, Lisa; and her granddaughter, actor... Read More

In this celebratory retrospective of Dolly Parton's career, the singer-songwriter delivers stories of her life and music in her bright, warm voice and distinctive country twang. Coauthor and narrator Tom Roland joins narrators Charlie Chase and Lorianne Crook (both TV and radio hosts) in providing biographical transitions and prompts for Parton. Crook adds humor as Parton... Read More

Drout, professor of English and director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College, narrates this deeply researched and remarkably comprehensive examination of Tolkien's genius. Drout's strong, sonorous voice is the perfect vehicle for sharing his own findings, imbuing the audio with deep meaning and a full understanding of both his own work and that of... Read More

Christina Delaine narrates this carefully researched and sympathetic biography of Jessica "Decca" Mitford, the most radical of the famous British sisters, with great authority. Delaine works hard to reproduce the uncomfortably strangulated accent of the English aristocracy, enhancing the frequent quotations from letters and from Mitford's prolific journalism. Widowed as a young... Read More

Crowe shares the stories behind his careers in music journalism, filmmaking, and musicals with a storyteller's relish. The idea of "uncool," a badge of honor bestowed on a young Crowe by rock critic Lester Bangs, underlies this memoir about a kid from San Diego. The author, whose early career as a teenage rock journalist for Rolling Stone in the 1970s became the inspiration for... Read More

Brian Buckbee gives his memoir a careful, unadorned narration. He pulls listeners in close as he weaves the story of his encounter with an injured pigeon in Montana after the loss of his partner and the onset of a debilitating neurological condition. As Buckbee describes taking in the bird he eventually names Two-Step, his pacing reflects the slowed, pensive tone of days shaped... Read More

With understated naturalism, Rob Shapiro introduces listeners to Sid Caesar, the first comic superstar of television. From 1949 to 1957, as many as 60 million viewers tuned in weekly to Caesar's inspired improvisational sketch comedy juggernauts, "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Caesar's writers' room of protégés such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Neil Simon went on... Read More